Archive for the 'irritable bowel syndrome' Category

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder. It means that the bowels of an IBS patient do not function properly and it causes many IBS symptoms. The most common symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are lower abdominal pain, changes in intestinal habits, abdominal irritation relieved with defecation, bloating resultong from changes in intestinal habits. In point of fact, there are several general patterns of irritable bowel syndrome that have their own specific symptoms. They are diarrhea-predominant (IBS-D), constipation-predominant (IBS-C), post-infectious IBS (IBS-PI), and IBS with alternating stool pattern (IBS-A). It is notable that all patterns can be accompanied by fever, vomiting, headache, excessive wind, etc. Also general malaise and lethargy, anxiety, stress, emotional disorders, back pain can also occur in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. According to statistics, this gastrointestinal disease affects as many as 30% of Americans and women suffer from it three times more often than men.

The difficulty is that there is no real understanding of why irritable bowel syndrome occurs and there is no specific scientific lab test which can be carried out to diagnose this condition. That’s why irritable bowel syndrome can be often confused with chronic functional abdominal pain (CFAP), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and some other gastrointestinal disorders. In case of irritable bowel syndrome the muscles that line the walls of the bowels go into spasm, but the inherent biochemical cause of it is not well established. Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome can become looser and even disappear for quite long periods of time, and then suddenly recur, what adds more difficulty in IBS diagnosis.

Notwithstanding the fact that irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic, irritating, and uncomfortable disorder, it is not fatal and its symptoms can be alleviated and even eliminated in case of proper treatment. Generally, stool softeners and laxatives are used in constipation-predominant IBS pattern, and various antidiarrheals (such as opioid or loperamide, diphenoxylate, codeine) are used in case of case of IBS-D (diarrhea-predominant patterns of IBS). Also the use of antispasmodic medications, such as anticholinergics such as hyoscyamine or dicyclomine, may be of special help to those people, who suffer from cramps or diarrhea.

But according to medical practice the best treatment for irritable bowel syndrome is proper diet, coping with stress and depression, and natural IBS remedies and cures. One of the best natural IBS treatments on the market is Bowtrol. Bowtrol Natural Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment was developed to successfully ease and eliminate all typical IBS symptoms. Bowtrol Natural IBS treatment is an alternative herbal remedy that is 100% clinically proven to be very effective in alleviating and eliminating irritable bowel syndrome symptoms and at the same time it causes no side effects. It will help you relax and normalize functioning of your gastrointestinal tract almost immediately. Bowtrol Natural Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment normalizes digestive system by balancing intestinal movements and increasing body detoxification, eliminates parasites and hyper-contractions of the involuntary muscle and strengthening and protecting the intestinal mucosa.

Bowtrol contains only herbal ingredients that are very effective in treating irritable bowel syndrome. Among those ingredients are Slippery Elm, Activated Charcoal, Turkey Rhubarb, Cascara Sagrada, Aloe, Bentonite, Wormseed, Black Seeds, Flax Seeds, Olive Leaf Extract, Garlic Extract, Peppermint, Certified Organic Cloves, Thyme Oil Powder, Senna and some more. All these components have been used throughout history as safe and reliable natural treatments of IBS, both diarrhea and constipation predominant. Now all of them are contained in Bowtrol Natural IBS Treatment. They have been carefully balanced to control all common IBS symptoms.

Bowtrol is the most powerful natural product on the market of natural IBS treatments and it has already helped a great many people suffering from IBS to ease and eliminate its annoying symptoms.

In case of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) there is no blood test or any special examination, which could be used to straightly diagnose this disease.

IBS shares the same general symptoms with some other bowel diseases, but it lacks symptoms that are specific for it. Therefore, IBS diagnosis is based on general symptoms excluding the symptoms specific for other abdominal diseases, found in course of appropriate investigations. For example, an experienced physician can easily distinguish IBS from colorectal cancer as the latter has its specific symptoms.

It is reasonable for the patient to let their doctor decide which tests should be made to find out the real disease. Here are common bowel diseases that share symptoms with irritable bowel syndrome.

Lactose intolerance occurs in patients whose small intestine can’t digest milk sugar, which results in bloating and diarrhea. Obviously, these symptoms are pretty much similar to those occurring in case of IBS. To make proper diagnosis a patient sticks to a strict milk-free diet for two weeks. If it relieves symptoms significantly, it usually indicates that he has lactose intolerance. Otherwise, the probability of irritable bowel syndrome is very high.

Celiac disease, is a disease of small intestine that is caused by a reaction to gliadin and other proteins found in wheat and other crops. It common symptoms are abdominal inflammation, diarhhea, fatigue, etc. IBS is diagnosed in case of negative results in course of gluten-free diet.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis also have symptoms similar to IBS: abdominal pain, bloody stools, diarhhea, vomiting, weight loss, etc. Diagnosis is made after colonoscopy with biopsy.

We have already learned that there are two most common types of irritable bowel syndrome: constipation predominant and diarrhea predominant. Let’s speak about those two in more detail.

Constipation is the condition in which defecation is delayed for a variety of reasons. It may be due to consciously ignoring or preventing defecation or to decreased colonic motility, which most commonly is secondary to aging, emotion, or a low-bulk diet. Bulk refers to the content of cellulose or other undigested materials in the diet, the volume of which is not decreased by absorption. The longer fecal material remains in the large intestine, the more water is reabsorbed, and the harder and drier the feces become, making defecation more difficult and sometimes painful. During this period additional material from the small intestine continues to enter the colon, progressively increasing the volume of its contents.

Many people have a mistaken belief that unless there is a bowel movement every day retention of fecal material and bacteria in the large intestine will somehow poison the body because of toxic products produced by the bacteria. Attempts to isolate such toxic agents from intestinal bacteria have been totally unsuccessful. In unusual cases where defecation has been prevented for a year or more by blockage of the rectum no ill effects from accumulated feces were noted except for the discomfort of carrying around the extra weight of 50 to 100 lb of feces retained in the large intestine. The symptoms of nausea, headache, loss of appetite, and general feeling of discomfort sometimes accompanying constipation appear to come from the distension of the rectum and large intestine. Experimentally inflating a balloon in the rectum of a normal individual produces similar sensations. Thus, there is no physiological necessity for having bowel movements regulated by a clock; whatever maintains a person in a comfortable state is physiologically adequate, whether this means a bowel movement after every meal, or once a day, or once a week.

Cathartics, or laxatives, are sometimes necessary to relieve constipation. Several types are in common use. Cellulose in vegetable matter is a natural cathartic because of its ability to increase intestinal motility by providing bulk which stretches the smooth muscle of the intestinal wall, increasing its sensitivity to the basic electrical rhythm, and thus increasing its contractile activity. Castor oil acts by irritating the smooth muscle of the intestinal tract, increasing its motility. Some cathartics, such as mineral oil, act by lubricating hard, dry fecal material, thus easing defecation. Such agents as milk of magnesia are not absorbed or absorbed only slowly by the intestinal wall; the presence of nonabsorbable solute causes water to be retained in the intestinal tract and along with the increased motility resulting from the in-creased volume helps to flush out the large intestine.

Diarrhea, the opposite of constipation, is characterized by frequent defecation, usually of highly fluid fecal matter. A primary cause is greater intestinal motility with less time for absorption and thus the delivery of a large volume of fluid to the large intestine overloading its capacity to absorb salt and water. Certain foods, such as prunes, stimulate intestinal motility and tend to produce diarrhea. Disease-producing bacteria often irritate the intestinal wall, increase motility of the intestinal tract, and lead to diarrhea. Prolonged diarrhea can result in a serious loss of fluid and salt, especially potassium, from the body as well as upsetting the acid-base balance of the body due to loss of bicarbonate.